NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Meets and FABBS submits Comments to NIMH
June 27, 2019
The NIH’s Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) convened in June for a packed agenda including updates on the BRAIN Initiative, sexual harassment policies, as well as the federal budget, artificial intelligence, diversity in the workforce, and vaccines.
The BRAIN Initiative co-chairs presented their final report “From Cells to Circuits, Towards Cures.” In the summary of the presentation, co-chairs indicated that BRAIN 2.0 will include an ‘added emphasis on behavior
read moreWhite House Proposes Terminating Federal Advisory Committees
June 27, 2019
On June 14, the President released an Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees. The order has been met with a combination of confusion and concern from the scientific community.
The proposal to evaluate the usefulness of current advisory committees is a reasonable one. However, the Executive Order states specific numbers and cuts, and provides no justification. Namely, agencies are ordered to ‘terminate at least one-third’
read moreNSF Seeking Feedback – Ideas Machine and NSF Grantee Experiences
June 13, 2019
The National Science Foundation received more than 800 idea
submissions for the NSF 2026 Idea
Machine competition. Now the 33 best submissions are completing for the grand prize. To
this end, NSF is asking the scientific community and the public to help NSF determine which entries will advance
to the next stage.
NSF is eager to hear from external stakeholders and invites FABBS members to watch entrants’ video pitches and comment on the importance and potential
read moreNIMH and NICHD Advisory Councils Meet, Discussing Their Respective Strategic Plans
June 13, 2019
NIH institute Advisory Councils advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services; the Director of National Institutes of Health; and the Directors of individual institutes, on all policies and activities relating to the conduct and support of relevant health research, research training, and other programs. Councils are comprised of topic experts approved by NIH leadership, who are often identified by the individual institutes.
The
House Appropriations Committee included